Nellie McKay quotes:

In New York City, when they develop something, they never use the old buildings. It's so wasteful. Why not use what's there?

It's always so nerve-wracking being up there on stage. It's even harder playing in your hometown - and I have a couple of home towns - but, you're playing for all the people you knew in high school, so it causes no small degree of panic in my mind.

In high school, I was always into Jerry Lee Lewis, and they decided they needed a piano player for the jazz band. I had my little boogie-woogie thing that I did, so I did my little boogie-woogie thing. I had a very high-pitched voice.

I used to play in the subway. If everyone tossed in a quarter, at the end of the day it would add up. It shows you aren't invisible. And it's better than being ignored, or kicked in the head, or worse.

Love is such a fleeting emotion. It's such a small part of the things you do in your life.

Music can make the cerebral accessible, the subconscious hummable. It communicates our shared needs and desires as sentient beings better than any other medium.

You know, if I can survive marching band, I can survive anything.

If we went back to the basics of vegetables, legumes, grains - the things closer to the Earth - it's a lot better for the Earth and for other people. We can feed more people, we can feed the starving people.

I never know how to get off the phone, so I'm terribly admiring of people who can.

I love writing for dancers. You don't have to worry about the lyrics. I think to write words without music must be so frustrating. It must be always be so good, so perfect.

Public radio is the last oasis of free and independent music. For satellite radio channels, you have to subscribe; commercial stations are as corporate as basic cable.

You know, I wanted to get married, and so I - but I, you know, I realize no matter what you want, it's kind of a fantasy.

My mom. She really encouraged me. That's the trouble with education: Unless you have a really supportive parent, you get left behind.

The civilised cultures are the most cruel. It's the same with education - often it breeds sadistic forms of cruelty.

I kind of go for the MGM version of every musical style.

Less money for public media means less access to the arts.

You can criticize something you strive for, and you can avoid something you dream about.

I have trouble with any kind of focus or concentrating, or getting anything done at all, really.

I really don't care what people say. It's amazing that feminism continues to exist at all, considering how much counter-feminism is out there.

I think there are nice things about every era. I wish we could just take the nice things.

I will say that art may well be the only thing that lasts, so I guess it's worth trying.

In the hierarchy of instruments, if you're a harpist, you're considered someone with a brain much more than if you're a singer.

There's a side of me that identifies with Aileen Wuornos.